Man serving life in prison for Detroit murder he did not commit released after 15 years

Case goes back to 2003 shooting on Detroit's east side

A man serving a life sentence for a murder he did not commit walked out of a prison in the Upper Peninsula Wednesday after serving 15 years.

The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office dismissed the homicide charges against 36-year-old Aaron Salter. The decision came after the Federal Defenders Office was able to help prove he was innocent.

The case goes back to 2003 when four people were shot sitting on a porch on Detroit's east side. One man was killed an eyewitness identified Salter, who was 21 at the time, as one of the shooters.

He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. After years of digging by the Federal Defenders Office in Detroit the news came Wednesday and the homicide charges were dismissed.

There will be an event held for Salter this Friday to celebrate his release.


About the Authors:

Koco joined the Local 4 News team in September of 2016. She was born and raised in Metro Detroit, attended Central Michigan University, and previously worked at WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids.

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.